Glasses
by AADale
Summary: Multiple drabbles - eventually - with the Tenth Division captain and lieutenant. Mostly friendship and humor. The first one: Rangiku needs glasses.
1. Chapter 1

Glasses

Multiple drabbles (eventually) with the Tenth Division captain and lieutenant. Mostly friendship and humor. The first one: Rangiku needs glasses.

Disclaimer – Bleach is the property of someone else.

A/N – There's nothing wrong with wearing glasses. But let's face it, Matsumoto wouldn't like them.

/

Hitsugaya had a theory. At the rate that Matsumoto's work performance was declining, one day soon she'd begin to accomplish a negative amount of work. He wanted to witness it when it happened: she would be erasing completed forms, recalling sent memos, possibly even training soul reapers to drop their zanpakuto and run away.

He had tried to be compassionate. He'd ignored her occasional morning hangovers and afternoon naps in the past. But the drinking, he knew, was getting worse, and the "headaches" which required an afternoon rest were a daily occurrence.

So he watched her work that day. He understood that "snail's pace" was just an expression, but if he could train a snail to do paperwork, it would be a tight race. This particular form she was working on, he knew, only needed a signature at the bottom, but it was taking her forever to get through it. And then he noticed – she was squinting. Of course! It was her eyesight. No wonder her paperwork had suffered. That would explain the headaches too. It had never occurred to him that she might be telling the truth about them.

So, all he had to do was…what? Walk up to her and tell her that she needed glasses? How would that go? She'd think he was calling her old - never mind that her friend Nanao had been wearing glasses a lot longer – and she would hate doing anything that would change her appearance. She'd react badly. She'd probably draw on him, and he'd have to defend himself, and end up killing her, and that wouldn't help the work load at all.

And you know what? She's had a lousy year. She's had it as bad as anyone, he thought, with all the chaos and losing Ichimaru. He remembered what it was like to nearly lose his childhood friend. Matsumoto's loss had been even worse. She pretended to be as happy as ever, but he could see how badly she was hurting. He just didn't have the stomach to break it to her that she needed glasses.

There's got to be another way. He considered every option. Unohana couldn't help. Kurotsuchi might have some technique to help her eyesight, but he wasn't letting that madman near her. Urahara? No. Wait, there was that girl, Kurosaki's friend…pretty girl, average build…Orihime! She had the power to heal, right? Maybe she could help. He'd get Rukia to contact her, and maybe she could heal Matsumoto's eyes.

/

A few days later, everything was in place. Orihime believed that she'd not only be able to improve her friend's eyesight, but she could do it gradually over a few nights while Rangiku was asleep and she'd never even notice.

"Matsumoto?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"We've just got word about a problem in Karakura Town. I'd like you to go on a solo mission there for a few days."

"Of course, sir. What's going on?"

"There have been some Snipe sightings around the town."

"Snipes, sir?"

"Yes. They're some kind of mutated Hollow. Remember we had that briefing about them?"

"Of course I remember it. I stay awake through every briefing, you know."

"Division Twelve doesn't know too much about them. I'd like you to go to Karakura Town for the next three days and report on anything unusual. Let's keep this quiet though. I don't want you gossiping to everyone about it like you always do."

"Captain! How dare you say that about me?"

"So, do you have anywhere to stay while you're there?"

"I haven't seen Orihime in a while. Maybe I can stay with her."

/

Hitsugaya allowed himself a smug little smile. Matsumoto was back at work – lazy, but not squinting, and she hadn't had an afternoon headache. It wasn't often these days that he got an unconditional win. He closed his eyes and relaxed. If anyone was going to take a nap this afternoon, it was going to be him.

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, his lieutenant was standing over him. She gave him a big, sloppy kiss on the forehead.

"What was that for?" he snapped, pretending to be angry.

"I know what you did. I'm not stupid, you know."

"What are you talking about?"

"Those three days off to visit Orihime. I really needed the rest. She's such a doll. You're just a little softy, the way you look out for me", she said, tickling his nose.

Tickling his nose? No. Nice was nice, but that was going too far.

"Well, you know, if you feel this much better, I bet it's because you haven't been drinking for the last few days. You should try to keep that up."

She smiled sweetly. "You're cute, but don't push your luck."


	2. Chapter 2

Lieutenant Sasakibe was waiting in the vestibule of the great hall. He was a patient man, so he didn't mind waiting, but it was unusual for someone to be late for an appointment with the General. Even more peculiar, it was Captain Hitsugaya who was running late. The captain of the Tenth Division typically held himself to the highest professional standards. Maybe Captain Kyoraku or former Captain Ichimaru would show up late sometimes, but this had to be a first for Captain Hitsugaya.

Sasakibe idly listened to the rain on the roof – an unexpected spring shower. He finally heard the young captain coming down the hallway. As usual, he was arguing with his lieutenant.

"Captain, I don't see why you're making such a fuss about it."

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it."

"It's a perfectly natural thing. In fact a lot of men would envy you."

"Stop talking about this! I have a meeting with Yamamoto."

"But that's my point. You look good for your meeting. You should be thanking me."

Finally the door opened, and Captain Hitsugaya entered the room. Lieutenant Matsumoto stepped in behind him, dripping wet.

"Captain", Sasakibe said, "I am to accompany you to the General's office."

The two men left Matsumoto and quickly walked through the great hall toward the office of the First Division's captain. Sasakibe was normally discreet, but his curiosity got the better of him. "You're dry", he said questioningly to the young captain.

"Yeah, um…I was walking with my lieutenant on the way over here, and a storm hit." The captain was blushing. He was usually well-spoken, but now he was struggling for words. "She insisted on walking…really…close behind me."

Slowly the image formed in Sasakibe's mind. At the captain's height…

Hitsugaya could barely choke out the rest of the explanation. "She says they're like a natural canopy."


	3. Chapter 3

The beautiful lieutenant of the Tenth Division sat at her desk, busy with paperwork. It was only Thursday, and she'd nearly finished all her work for the week. At the desk behind her sat her captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya, scowling. She didn't have to turn around to feel that scowl. When someone with captain-level spiritual pressure is angry, every shinigami nearby can feel it. That's one of the tricks to maintaining discipline within Soul Society.

But the odd thing was, Rangiku hadn't done anything to earn her captain's wrath. Sometimes she gave him perfectly good reasons to be angry – even she had to admit that. But she'd been pretty good lately. She'd tried everything she could think of to turn his mood around over the past few days; having run out of other ideas, she'd resorted to doing her job, but even that wasn't enough to please him.

A knock on the door broke the tension. "Come in", Rangiku called out in her sweetest voice. Sentaro Kotsubaki, third-seat of the Thirteenth Division, entered the office.

"Captain Hitsugaya. My captain sends his greetings", said Sentaro as he presented a small box to Toshiro. This was the daily delivery of candy from Ukitake.

The captain scowled. "I see that Utikate trusted you handle this all by yourself. Congratulations."

At the same moment, Sentaro said "captain?" in a hurt tone, and Rangiku shouted "captain!", instinctively rebuking her commanding officer.

Hitsugaya said, "Never mind. Go." With a wounded look, Sentaro departed.

Rangiku couldn't understand it. Sure, the two third-seats were irritating, and she knew that Hitsugaya didn't appreciate the daily delivery of treats from his fellow white-haired captain. But even so, that was just rude. He had been unbearable for nearly a week. But at least today was Thursday: that meant that she'd have a little peace and quiet (and maybe even a nap) when Hitsugaya went for his weekly walk.

The captain of the Tenth Division had never explained his Thursday afternoon walks. So Rangiku felt compelled to investigate. She convinced Lieutenant Hisagi to follow him once. Shuhei had been shocked at the idea. A captain's actions were not to be questioned, let alone spied upon. He was very uncooperative. It took Matsumoto nearly two full minutes of smiling and accidentally brushing up against him before he agreed to do the surveillance.

That evening, Hisagi reported that the captain had passed through the West Gate and stopped in his old neighborhood in Rukongai, where he passed out candy to the children. That solved another lingering mystery for Matsumoto, where Captain Ukitake's candy ended up.

But this Thursday afternoon came and went, and the captain didn't step out of the office. And the next morning, his mood was even worse. He grumbled to himself as he completed his share of the paperwork, and snapped at Rangiku's every mistake. Today, both of Ukitake's third-seats showed up with the daily gift. Angry, defensive looks were exchanged all around. What had happened there? Did Sentaro really complain to Kiyone that Toshiro had made fun of him? It was hard to picture that. But still, the small girl looked ready for a fight, apparently quite protective of her arch-rival Sentaro.

Back to work. A much-needed weekend was fast approaching, but Rangiku was already dreading the next Monday. She decided to go for broke. If she was going to be yelled at no matter what, she should at least get some candy out of the deal.

"Captain?"

"What."

"Is that peppermint?"

"What, in this box? I dunno."

"It smells like peppermint. It smells really good. Could I have one?"

"Sure." Hitsugaya seemed shocked by the request. He brought the box of candy over to his lieutenant's desk. She opened it and popped one of the mints into her mouth.

"Mmm! These are really good. Does Captain Ukitake always send over such good candies?" Up until now, the contents of the regular gift boxes had never been discussed.

"I don't know. He sent over some chocolates yesterday. Would you like to try one?"

"Sure!"

He brought that box over as well. They were fancy chocolates, some kind she'd never seen before. They were delicious.

He watched her closely. "I didn't know you liked candy", he said.

She smiled, surprised at the comment. "Of course! Everyone does."

"Really? I've only ever seen kids eating it."

Then Rangiku noticed that the box of chocolates was half-empty. "Oh!" Her eyes suddenly lit up. "So that's what's going on! You've got your sweet tooth back!"

"No", he said, blushing. "What do you mean?"

She couldn't help but burst into laughter. "That's it! That's why you've been so grumpy lately. You started eating sweets again and you were thinking that they're just for kids!"

He was completely red-faced now. He hated it the way she could read him sometimes.

She went on. "Oh, it's ok, most every adult I know likes candy. It's nothing to feel embarrassed about. Just don't eat too many or you'll start to get fat." She stretched out her arm and rubbed his belly.

/

Sentaro knocked on the door of the Tenth Division headquarters the next Monday. As always, Rangiku invited him in.

As he entered, he heard the voice of Captain Hitsugaya. "Ah, Third-Seat Kotsubaki! I see that you've brought a gift from your captain today."

"Yes, sir! My captain sends his greetings."

"Well, let's see what we have here", Hitsugaya said as he opened the package. "Chocolates! Excellent. I'll just put them in my new candy dish."

Rangiku said, "I bought it for him over the weekend. Isn't it lovely?"

"Uh…yes, it's a very nice candy dish."

"Would you care for one before you go?" Hitsugaya held out the newly-filled dish.

"Thank you sir. Mmm, very good."

"Well, I'm glad you like it. Please send my thanks to Captain Ukitake."

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir."

Sentaro walked out of the office with a spring in his step.

"Matsumoto?" The tone in Hitsugaya's voice had sharpened.

"Yes, captain?"

"If you tell anyone your theory about my recent moodiness,"

"I know, sir, extra paperwork for a month."

"Worse. I won't let you try Ukitake's lemon sours."

"They're that good, huh?"

"They're unbelievable."


	4. Chapter 4

"Captain, how was lunch?"

"Fine. You know, you should feel proud. Ukitake and Kyoraku rated you fifth in Soul Society."

"_Fifth?"_

"Uh-huh. Right between Hinamori and Rukia."

"Just fifth, huh?"

"I would think you'd be honored by that."

"Well...ok, who came in first?"

"Well, Renji, of course, because he's got a bankai. Then Kira and Hisagi. They weren't too clear about which one of them was second or third. But they wanted to make sure you knew you were fifth, and no matter what you think, I think that's impressive."

"They wanted to make sure I knew?"

"Yes. They were very specific about it. 'Tell her she's ranked fifth in Soul Society, between Hinamori and Rukia'."

"I see."

/

"Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think you'll be joining Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake for lunch again anytime soon?"

"I'm not sure. We didn't make any plans. But I'll definitely see both of them at the Captains' Meeting in two days."

"Huh. They're funny, those two. They're so much alike. Both of them have double zanpakuto."

"Mm-hmm."

"Now, both of Captain Ukitake's blades are the same, right?"

"I believe so."

"Not Captain Kyoraku though. I wonder if that's tough for him, training with two very different swords."

"I never thought about it. I don't think they're that different, though."

"Still, you should ask him about that for me. He's probably the only one in Soul Society who's got a pair that are different-sized. Does it cause a problem for him that his left one is so much smaller than his right one? I mean, after all these centuries of training with them, it's probably affected the balance of his frame. I bet he favors one side, or even walks with a bit of a limp because his left one is so much smaller. He has the most asymmetrical pair I've ever seen."

"That's very interesting. I'll ask him about it. And Lieutenant?"

"Sir?"

"I'm happy that you're showing such an interest in your fellow Soul Reapers' proficiencies. That shows a real maturity on your part."

"Thank you, sir."


	5. Chapter 5

A beautiful day in Seireitei.

Coincidentally, the weather had been lovely in Karakura Town, as well.

Captain Hitsugaya, the white-haired young leader of the Tenth Division, walked along with Lieutenants Matsumoto and Kuchiki through the streets of Seireitei. They walked in calm silence, that peaceful state which naturally follows a relaxing day outdoors. As they approached the headquarters of the Thirteenth Division, they saw Captain Ukitake and the pink-robed captain of the Eighth in a park across the street. The casual mood was infectious - the two captains were lazily kicking a soccer ball between them.

"You're back!" called out Captain Ukitake as he saw them approach.

"Yes, captain! Is there anything you need me to do?"

"No, I'm fine. Just happy to see you've returned."

Shunsui asked, "so, have the three of you have been somewhere interesting?"

"The lieutenants and I were in Karakura Town for the day", Toshiro said. "They wanted to visit their friend Orihime, and Lieutenant Matsumoto is on a six-month probation with the Kido Corps. She's not allowed to use a gate without a captain present."

"What did she do?" asked Shunsui.

"She knows what she did", scowled Toshiro.

Matsumoto went on, "it was a beautiful day. We went on a picnic, and Orihime made lunch." Toshiro and Rukia flinched at the memory. "We had a great time."

Rukia waved goodbye to the lieutenant, and more formally addressed Captain Hitsugaya. "Thank you for walking me back. I'll see you both soon."

Ukitake and Kuchiki headed back to their headquarters. Shunsui followed, kicking the ball along with him.

He leaned in to his friend and whispered in his ear, "My, my. Orihime, Rukia, _and_ Rangiku? Very nice."

Ukitake smiled back. "I think our little Shiro is growing up", he quietly replied.

/

Captain and lieutenant walked quietly toward the Tenth Division barracks.

Hitsugaya finally spoke. "I didn't know that Orihime's family was originally from Nagasaki."

"Yes, that's right, she mentioned that today."

"Well, are you going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

Hitsugaya didn't bother to reply.

Rangiku didn't answer. They continued to walk.

Rangiku finally said, "I don't know for sure."

"Come on. She served us cherry lizardfish ramen. She said it was a family recipe. There can't be more than one family in the world with that recipe."

Rangiku gathered her thoughts.

"I know. My mom used to make it. I…died giving birth to my first child. I don't know what ever happened to my child or the rest of my family. I looked into the records once, after I met Orihime, but the city records of Nagasaki are a mess. I just don't know. It's kind of nice to think that she could be my descendent, though. She's such a sweet girl."

They walked further.

"How old are you, anyway?"

"Captain!"

"Well, she couldn't be your granddaughter. Maybe great granddaughter, or great-great-"

"Captain!"

"Ha! That's the real reason you don't want to talk to her about it, isn't it?"

"No! No, it's…you had your grandmother. You have some pleasant memories of family. For some of us, family isn't a happy thing."

"I think that Orihime would be happy to have you as family."

"I suppose so. I don't know. I guess I'm just not ready."

Together they arrived at the division headquarters.

/

A few days later, Lieutenant Ise was hurriedly making the rounds of the divisions, delivering paperwork over lunch. She happened upon Lieutenant Kuchiki at the Thirteenth Division. Rukia was hunched over a bowl of foul-smelling lunch. She looked slightly green.

"Lieutenant Kuchiki."

"Nanao."

"What's that you're eating?"

"Cherry lizardfish ramen. It's not bad, if you pick around the cherries. And the lizardfish."

"Why are you eating that? It looks awful."

"You know my friend Orihime?"

"Yes."

"She loves this. So does Rangiku. I've seen them eat bowls of it."

"Well, that doesn't mean you have to eat it."

"You know what else they have in common?"

"Sure, they both have b-"

Lieutenant Ise stopped talking. She looked at the bowl, then at Rukia, then down at her own body. She sniffed the air cautiously. "Tell me if it works, ok?"


End file.
